A 1999 Maryknoll School graduate and real estate agent was shot to death in an apparent random shooting Saturday outside a nightclub in San Jose, Calif.
Michael Arcega, 34, of San Francisco, died at the scene about 2 a.m. Saturday, San Jose police said.
Officers responded to a report of firearms discharged and found Arcega with at least one gunshot wound. Police were looking for suspects.
Friends in California said Arcega was shot while waiting for a ride outside Lu Beer Club & Restaurant after celebrating a friend’s birthday.
“It was a case of wrong place, wrong time,” said Bradley Wills, Arcega’s friend and a former Kaneohe resident. “He got caught in the crossfire. It wasn’t intended for him.”
He said Arcega was not involved in any confrontation before the shooting.
Wills, the co-owner of Noelani’s Bar and Lounge, a Hawaii-themed restaurant in San Carlos, south of San Francisco, thought of Arcega as a little brother and had helped recruit him to enroll at Notre Dame de Namur University in the Bay Area in 1999. Arcega later graduated from the university.
“It hurts so much,” Wills said by phone. He said Arcega had developed a large network of friends on the mainland as his family away from home, but held onto the aloha spirit and shared it with everyone.
“That’s what hurts the most,” Wills said. “You see a great guy like that and to think now that I’m not going to see him.”
Arcega attended Maryknoll School, where he played basketball for four years, including two on the school’s varsity team, said Maryknoll spokesman Keenan Kurihara. He said Arcega had been planning to host an alumni event in San Francisco this year.
He added that the school’s thoughts and prayers were with Arcega’s family.
Friends said Arcega was the primary caretaker for his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Chanel, and became a real estate agent last year. He was doing well in his new career and was liked by his co-workers, they said.
“He was very, very ambitious,” Wills said. “When he works for something, he puts everything (into it).”
One of Arcega’s co-workers at Keller Williams in San Carlos wrote on a fundraising page that Arcega was an “up-and-coming real estate agent and a beloved friend to many,” adding, “He had the biggest heart and was a very compassionate guy, very happy, and outgoing. He will be forever loved and truly missed.”
Noelani Maestrini, co-owner of Noelani’s, said Arcega had an “infectious personality” and made friends easily.
“He was kind of this ray of sunshine to our restaurant,” said Maestrini, a former Hawaii island resident. “Mikey walked in and everybody knew he was here. Not only was he a friendly spirit, but he was really loud … and loved by everyone.”
Maestrini said she was devastated by Arcega’s death. “It was just complete sadness,” she said. “Your heart is broken because someone so young and amazing got taken too soon.”
The owners of Noelani’s plan to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of Arcega at the restaurant today.
Arcega is survived by his younger sister, who lived with him in San Francisco, a younger brother in Los Angeles, and his parents on Oahu.
Friends set up a fundraiser at bit.ly/1H9HOYb.
Services have been set for Nov. 12 at Resurrection of the Lord Catholic Church in Waipahu, with a viewing at 10 a.m. and Mass at 11 a.m. A burial will follow at 1 p.m. at Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe.
